First Official London Post: Pre-Departure

Dear Blog,

I realized today that I had created you to chronicle my trip to London this coming semester but alas, I haven’t actually written anything about the upcoming trip yet. So here it is: the First Official London Post.
I’ve been thinking about how it’ll be like to live in London a lot recently, and I think it’ll be really helpful to be able to picture myself there.

A couple weeks ago me and the other 14 students from my school going to London were emailed with which flat we’ll be living in in London.  We’re all living in Crawford House, in Farringdon. Here’s a bird’s eye view.

Click to see it a little bigger

The website for the flat had some more pictures, including a picture of it from the outside.

 
Me and my flat

I seem to be really happy with the living accommodations.

The website for the flat has pictures of some rooms. Here’s the bedroom.

 
Seems a little small, but it looks like I’ll like it.

One big hurdle I’ll have to overcome in moving to London will be learning to use the Tube (or Underground) system.

 
Looks really complicated.

 
Seems like I’ve got a good handle on it, though.

Ps, this guy is totally checking me out.

One of the things I’m looking forward to the most in London is exploring the city.

 
Click to see how much fun I’m having in the median.
Seems like I’ll find some pretty cool places.

And let’s be honest, while a part of my time in London maybe will be devoted to studying, a good amount of my time will most likely be spent in pubs, like this.

 
Looks like I’ll be having me-self a good time.

Leaving for London in 32 days! I’m hoping to have some other London-themed blog posts before I go, if I can think of some topics.

Belated Thoughts on HP6

I think it’s about time for a new post. I am very happy to have my compy back and in working condition, because I have my Live Writer back! It’s a little tool for Windows for writing blogs, and it rocks. Especially for making blog posts with pictures, which is a pain to do in the Blogger post editor.

Anyways. I’ve had notes for a Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince post stored in my phone for 2 weeks but haven’t had the will to write them up. I do now though! It was a little rough trying to read what the notes where…I typed them up during the movie without looking…so for your enjoyment, I’ll include what I wrote in my phone as the section header.

I’m not going to write up a whole review—it’s a little late for that. But I do want to talk about little things that occurred to me or little things I liked while watching that I want to discuss with you guys!

1. Wand Makes Abduction

I think this is “wand maker abduction”, ha. I didn’t notice this until the second time I saw the movie. In the opening sequence, Death Eaters are shown terrorizing London and generally wreaking havoc. A shot is shown where the Death Eaters blow out the windows of a shop and pull out someone with their head covered.

 

Upon closer inspection, this is Diagon Alley (evidenced by Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes in the background), and that is most definitely Ollivander and his shop.

click to make a little bigger

I missed this the first time around, focusing on the effects and just trying to take everything in.  I think it’s awesome that they put this in—in the books, you’re not really sure at this point what happened to Ollivander, but here they’re foreshadowing the disappearance of the famed wand maker, who will prove important in the final movies.

2. Draco’s Mom

Narcissa Malfoy makes her first appearance in this movie, and I think they made a pretty good choice in the actress who plays her. I was more impressed with how they made her look.

I’m very intrigued with her hair choice. At first glance it seems blonde, but you can see the top is brown (and I think some in the back, can’t remember). This would make sense, since her sister is Bellatrix Lestrange, a brunette.  I thought this was a smart choice; in the book, she’s described as having blonde hair, which is entirely different than anyone else on the Black side of the family.  This way, with brown and blonde hair, she is associated with Bellatrix and the Black family, but also with her husband and son, the Malfoys.

3. Speaking of the Malfoys…

How hot is Tom Felton??

4. Bull Hands on Deck

AKA “All Hands on Deck,” a line Slughorn says to Hermione in the Three Broomsticks (I think…again, I saw the movie 2 weeks ago, I forget some of the details). I wrote this down because
a) Was Hermione drunk in this scene and after??
b) I think saying “All hands on deck” after someone spills a drink is funny. Better than “party foul.” Me thinks I’ll use it in London.

5. NevilleFaL massa knave

I’m glad I at least got “Neville” because I have no idea what the rest of that was supposed to be. Neville made the list because I think this was by far one of the funniest things about any HP movie so far:

Genius. Whoever made Neville a waiter is genius.

6. Um…Hi, Cormac…

Hi. You’re cute.

7. Evil Leaves Traces

There’s a point in the movie when Dumbledore and Harry are discussing Horcruxes, and when describing them, Dumbledore explains to Harry “Evil leaves traces.” 

In the books, JK definitely likes to leave clues here and there that when you go back and read it, you just think “Geez, it was here all along!” Seems like they’re doing it in the movies too. For example:
a) Dumbledore makes this remark while talking about horcruxes.
b) Harry Potter has a trace of Voldemort on him in the form of his scar.
c) Maybe, just maybe, there’s a connection between the horcruxes and Harry!?
Maybe it was an obvious point that they stuck that little bit in there; I just thought it was a good choice, especially for those who have never read the books, or at least haven’t read the 7th book yet (who are you, and why not?!?!).

8. My Quick Review

I loved Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. It is one of my favorite books in the series, just because it really gets the ball rolling on ending the series, and I think the movie captured the intensity and plot developments perfectly.  Before the movie came out you heard how the movie had more comedy than the others, and I was a bit wary about this; however I think it was great. The humor wasn’t stupid or silly, it was actually funny, and it was a great balance to the seriousness in the rest of the movie. The effects were awesome, and the actors really stepped up their game.  Most definitely my favorite HP movie so far, and I absolutely can’t wait for the next one.

For the comments: What did you think? Did you notice anything interesting in HBP? What was your favorite part?

Awkward Photos of Alyssa, Pt. 1

After an extremely long time away from the blogosphere, I’m happy to say I’m back! This summer has been a pretty busy one for me, leaving little time to blog. However, I had to make time for this post.
Recently, I came across a pretty amazing site called AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com. It is quite possibly one of the best sites I’ve ever seen (being surpassed only by TFLN and/or Letters to Rob). While browsing through the awkward and amazing photos, I became inspired. Particularly by pictures like this:

or this:

So one Saturday afternoon, I went through a couple family photo albums to look for my most awkward photos. I hereby present to you…

Awkward Photos of Alyssa.

1. Where’s the fire?

Can we talk about how lonely I look in this picture? Let it be noted, I am wearing a Barney raincoat. And rain boots. When it is clearly not raining. If there is a fire around though, I am so ready.

2. Fun party
Waitin for the party to start. Me and Tigger sure look like we’re having a good time.



3. Flying off to Never Never Land

Diana and I (yes, she was once shorter than me) acting out Peter Pan (…and his girlfriend?). Knowing us, we probably made up a song to go along with it. Also, I don’t recall ever owning Robin Hood-style lets-hunt-and-gather-in-the-woods boots. Apparently, I did.

4. Oh, candid photos

Nice Dad-stache, Dad.

5. Can’t forget about Mom…

Yup. The hippo in a tutu is most definitely my mom. And she most definitely wore this to work.

6. Timer didn’t work quite right.

Let’s note 1. the Dad-stache making another appearance, 2. the dead-pan looks on everyone’s faces, 3. the empty spot on the couch which inevitably means the photographer thought he was setting the timer button, so that he would have approximately 5 seconds to run around the tripod and take his seat at the couch…but he hit the wrong button.

7. Let’s embarrass Diana again.

I’m baffled that my aunt doesn’t seem more concerned that Diana is leaning at an outrageous angle.

8. And the grand finale… ...

Stayed tuned for Awkward Photos of Alyssa, Pt. 2

(which may or may not ever come).

That's the way you do 'er!

When I’m home, I work at a grocery store. The clientele at said grocery store aren’t the most….sophisticated residents of Shippensburg. As a result, I get to witness the intricacies and nuances of the local lingo. Let’s look at a few examples of commonly used or overheard phrases in Shippensburg, PA.

1. “That’s ignorant.”
Let’s be honest. When Shippensburgians use this adjective in the insulting way that they do, they do not pronounce it “ig-nor-ant.” It is more like the two-syllable “ig-nrnt.” Let’s see it used in a real-life situation.

Guy walks in to store who is a regular and is always a little stoned.
Me to co-worker: “Dude that guy always comes in here. I swear he’s always high or drunk.”
Guy comes through line. Sure enough, he is a little high/drunk.
Guy leaves.
Coworker (speaking to me): “Hahaha. You’re ignrnt!”

???

2. The pronunciation of “well”
In Shippensburg, natives do not pronounce “well” like the old-school water source. There are two different pronunciations of “well.”
1. “Wool”: Used at the beginning of a sentence in an explanatory manner.

Wool, I was going to thank you for tipping me off about those dragons, but…

2. “Whale”: Again, used at the beginning of the sentence, but not quite as explanatory.

Whale, I’ll be monitoring your frequencies, so you have no need to worry.

Typically, Shippensburgians do not use both pronunciations, leaning towards one more than the other. Unfortunately, I am a frequent user of “wool”.

3. "That’s the way you do ‘er."
I heard this little gem in a conversation between Shippensburg’s best at Food Lion. The convo went like this.

“How ya doin, Ray? What have you been up to?”
“Aww, just stayin out of trouble, Jim.”
“That’s the way you do ‘er."

???

4. "I’m gonna let this set here."
I’m pretty sure the word “sit” is never used except when referring to the action of lowering one’s bum into a chair.

5. "Thank ya (much)"
First of all, it’s not “thank you” but “thank ya”.
Second of all, it’s not “thank ya very much” but “thank ya much.” I feel like…this doesn’t make sense.

6. "You work tomar?"
This question was posed to me at work. I’m not sure exactly what a “tomar” is or whether I work it or not.

7. "I done drove up and down the road."
When did “done” became an adverb?

8. "They usually skunk that up."
A phrase that can only have origins in the country. Is used as a euphemism for f***.

9. "Oh my garsh."
Not “Oh my God.”
Not “Oh my gosh.”
Not “Oh my goodness.”
“Oh my garsh.”

For the comments: what do the locals say in your area? Have anything to add to the list?

Mexico or, The Alcohol I Drank There

It’s tough coming back from vacation. After a week of doing absolutely nothing but reading, sun bathing, drinking and clubbing, and relaxing, it sucks to get back to doing nothing but working.
I posted a bunch of pics from Mexico to my FB, which can be found here. However, since I am still under the legal age of drinking in the states, I couldn’t post all the pictures or write all the commentary I wanted to.
This blog seems like the perfect place to do it!
We’ll start off with a basic overview of the place.

1. Villa Magna in Nueva Vallarta, Mexico This is the condo where we stayed. It was beach and pool front and amazing. 5 bedrooms and each room had a view of the ocean.

2. View from my room Yup. Took this leaning out of my bedroom window. One of my favorite things about this beach was how you could see the mountains in the distance on either side. The pool was also awesome. It’s all pretty much one depth, just painted to look different. It was also an infinity pool which was awesome.

3. The pool

Yeah, this was a pretty nice place. There were 3 pools between the condos and adjacent hotel. And a little island you could sit on. It got really windy here in the afternoon, though.

One great thing about this vacation was the great restaurants we went to. Each one was outdoors, and each one claimed to have the best margaritas in Vallarta. So we tried them all.

Restaurant #1: Playing it safe with Rum and Coke

This is Fajita Republic and the food was amazing. I wasn't brave enough to try a margarita.

Restaurant #2: Starting off easy with a Strawberry DaiquiriAgain, I didn't try the margaritas but everyone else did. The daiquiri was good, as was the food again.
After we ate the waiter came up and said “Free shots on the house!! How many??”
So Di and I look at each other.
And we promptly raise our hands.
The waiter brings out 4, gives one to me, one to Diana, and one each to Grandma and her Ed.

Shots with the G-ma
Unfortunately, G-ma gave hers away to my dad.
I, however, did not give mine away.

Complete with lime as a chaser
After the shot, I went on to take pictures of me and my mom, me and my dad, me and my cousin, etc…



The shot had nothing to do with the influx of pictures…

Restaurant #3: THE Margarita
When we went to Malecon, we went to a restaurant called PiPi’s, which was known for its maragaritas. Hence:

So we all ordered one.
This is what they brought out.

These margaritas were GINORMOUS! And only $8!

Om nom nom nom
By the end of the meal, Diana had finished hers. The effects are evidenced in the following pictures.

10 pts Diana

After this, we went clubbing here:

which was awesome.
And took drunk pictures like these:

which was awesome.
And the next day worked off the effects of the margaritas, shots of tequila, rum and coke/Corona by looking at views like these:

which was awesome.
Can’t wait to go back.
I have more stories, but not enough time to write about them now. They include drunk 28 year olds from Spain pouring alcohol on their faces, hanging out with 2 guys from Mexico (Diana got to practice her Spanish a lot...), among others. I’ll save those stories for another time.